


Friendly Vengeance

by shutupeccles



Category: Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Friendship/Love, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-27
Updated: 2011-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-04 10:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/392587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutupeccles/pseuds/shutupeccles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Behind/between scenes of 4.04: Searching for a dragon egg is only half the quest. Getting back at Merlin for his humiliating and unneeded assistance in front of the King’s Council is far more important.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friendly Vengeance

Arthur is itching to make Merlin suffer for yesterday’s trouser fiasco.  
   
“Even Gwen heard about it,” Elyan admits with a chuckle as they follow the trail of yet another thief with sorcerous intentions. “It’s the closest she’s come to laughing since…” he stops.  
   
Lancelot’s name hangs in the air as though Arthur could reach out and pull him through into this world. Perhaps then Guinevere would talk to him beyond polite pleasantries. He’d naively thought a selfishly silver lining might be found in Lancelot’s sacrifice, now he and Guinevere would be free to love without the three of them suffering that ever-present guilt. He looks at Merlin who is busy readying the cook fire and thinks of the brief, desperate kiss they shared on the journey to repair the sundered veil and again after paying tribute to Lancelot. Who is Arthur to denote Guinevere’s grief less moral than his would be if Merlin had entered the spirit world instead?  
   
“I’m sure Lancelot would have married your sister had my father not sent him into exile,” Arthur assures Elyan – and himself.  
   
“And still you brought him back to Camelot?” Elyan asks doubtfully.  
   
“Camelot deserves to be defended by men of Lancelot’s calibre. Neither prejudice nor affection should see a man denied his just reward.” Arthur’s eyes are drawn to Merlin and his thoughts return to yesterday’s public humiliation, and also this morning’s. Sudden weight against his sleeping body added another dimension to the dream he’d been having about similar activity without an audience. Waking up to find Merlin lying across him, atop the evidence that this dream had been thoroughly enjoyable, startled the climax out of him. That wretched warning bell sounding out before he’d regained his composure didn’t help.  
   
Payback for those events requires a level of mean only associated with the name ‘Arthur Pendragon’. He quietly confides his plan to Sir Leon, who subtly passes it on to Elyan, Gwaine and Percival.  
   
Merlin serves the carefully prepared stew first to the King (Arthur remains slightly uncomfortable with this mantle outside the Council chamber and throne room) then to Sir Leon, who asks for a larger serving before the pot moves down the line. Gwaine does the same when Merlin reaches him. Just as Merlin begins to dish out his own portion, Arthur sternly commands him to feed the horses. The moment he’s gone Leon sets aside a large serving for Merlin, then Arthur and his Knights wolf down what’s left.  
   
Merlin's dejected face as he peers into the pot to see the lonely spoonful at the bottom is made all the more rewarding when Arthur scoops out the stew, eats it in front of him, and declares it was too salty. It wasn’t of course, but Arthur’s revenge isn’t complete yet. He leaves the pot in Merlin’s arms and the Knights pile their plates on top. As arranged earlier, Leon waits until Merlin's tolerance nears its limit to produce the meal reserved for Merlin. The Knights laugh but Arthur cannot truly enjoy the joke until Merlin laughs.  
   
Gwaine volunteers to help Merlin wash the cooking and eating implements, and Leon sets out Merlin's bedding within reach of Arthur’s sword arm before preparing his own so he can talk to Arthur without their companions overhearing.  
   
“Make sure you compliment his cooking tomorrow. He took more offense to your barb about the salt than the lack of food.”  
   
“He’s certainly better at making stew in front of my peers than pulling up trousers.” Arthur lifts a corner of his blanket then kicks a clod of earth beneath it flat as he continues. “Not a soul in that room batted an eye. It would be hilarious if it hadn’t happened to me.”  
   
Leon chuckles with him and ensures the others are occupied. “And if an opportunity arose for something similar to occur in a private setting?” he asks quietly.  
   
Arthur isn’t insulted by this question but only because it came from Leon. They’d experimented together on an arduous campaign years ago, as had many others under those circumstances, and agreed never to talk about it. Ostensibly to prevent King Uther discovering one of his Knights had done **that** to his son, but actually because they’d both found it incredibly pleasant and didn’t want such behaviour to become habit.  
   
Merlin and Gwaine can be heard joking about as they return from the brook. Arthur answers Leon’s question without looking away from Merlin's smile as he comes into view. “I wouldn’t say no.”  
   
Merlin's smile brightens as he catches sight of Arthur and a friendly pat on the back is all that’s necessary to communicate Leon’s approval.

  
[Arthur/Leon campaign history](http://archiveofourown.org/works/392590)

  



End file.
